Cattle Point Road Realignment Project

Record of Decision

After 9 years of analysis and review the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Park Service (NPS) have approved Records of Decision (RODs) for the Cattle Point Road Realignment Project. Approval of the RODs allows the partner agencies to begin final design and construction (pending funding) of the project.

The lead agencies have selected alternative B for construction. This alternative was identified as the preferred alternative and the environmentally preferred alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published in September 2012. The alternative will realign a 4,950-foot section of Cattle Point Road located in the San Juan Island National Historical Park. The new alignment will shift the road about 300 feet upslope from its present location, which is expected to protect the roadway from coastal bluff erosion for about 100 years.

Project Overview

The Cattle Point Road Realignment Project is located on San Juan Island, Washington about 8 miles south of the town of Friday Harbor in the San Juan Island National Historical Park (vicinity map) (Acrobat, 1.49 MB). ). About 500 feet of Cattle Point Road is being threatened by coastal erosion which is wearing-away the base of the bluff that supports the road. If erosion continues unabated the roadway will eventually fail, cutting-off the only road access to federal, state, and private property at the east end of the Cattle Point peninsula.

The project team is a partnership of four agencies; FHWA Western Federal Lands Highway Division, NPS San Juan Island National Historical Park, San Juan County (County) and Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The FHWA and NPS are the lead agencies for the project.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process

Public concerns about ongoing encroachment of the coastal bluff toward Cattle Point Road were first discussed in 2001 when the County held a public scoping meeting in Friday Harbor. The FHWA and NPS became involved in 2003 when federal funding for project planning became available. In February 2004 the FHWA and NPS filed a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Cattle Point Road Project was released for public comment in August 2010. A public open house was held in October 2010 to discuss and take comments on the DEIS. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which addressed comments to the DEIS, was published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2012.

The ROD is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The ROD outlines the rational for the decision and measures to minimize environmental harm that will be incorporated into the final road design and construction. The FHWA and NPS RODs may be viewed or downloaded using the links at the bottom of the page.

The County is currently pursuing funding for construction of the project.